“You cannot change international commitments,” said Liberman, referring to the Palestinians’ achievement of an upgraded status at the UN, to that of a non-member observer state, less than 24 hours earlier. He was speaking at the Saban Forum in Washington, D.C.

He said the PA’s UN bid was meant to serve as a diversion from its failed domestic policies — claiming that Hamas “is more effective, and has more political will and determination, than Abbas.”

The foreign minister said Israel still stands behind a two-state solution — which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out in his famous Bar Ilan University address three years ago, he noted — and is ready to restart peace negotiations, but “without any preconditions.” He said the PA began placing conditions on Israel — including the demand that Jerusalem stop construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a prerequisite for restarting peace negotiations — after the last round of direct talks failed in the fall of 2010.

“We are ready to move forward,” Liberman said, “but we do not know who represents the Palestinians — Hamas or Fatah.”

He also defended Israel’s newly announced plan for building over the Green Line, stating that it wasn’t designed as a provocation but, rather, that “it’s our right to define our capital.”

When asked about the implications of US President Barack Obama’s second term, Liberman answered: “At the end of the day, Israel has only one friend, and that’s America.” Likewise, he said, people know that Israel is their “only friend” in the Middle East.